Virat Kohli overtakes MS Dhoni as India's highest-earning sportsperson

What's the story?

Indian captain Virat Kohli has become the highest earning sportsperson in India, as per the the latest Forbes India Celebrity 100 List 2018.

Kohli has more than doubled his earnings of Rs. 100.72 crore from last year, to rake in Rs. 228.09 crore in 2018. MS Dhoni is second in the list with Rs. 101.77 crore.

The background

Kohli has been in phenomenal form across all formats of the game. In 2018, he has accumulated 2,476 runs in international cricket - 1,063 runs in 10 Tests, 1,202 runs in 14 ODIs and 211 runs in 10 T20Is.

The 30-year-old seems set to break each and every record set by Sachin Tendulkar. With 38 ODI hundreds already, he is expected to break Tendulkar's record of 51 centuries in the next couple of years.

In 2018, India have failed to win away Test series in South Africa and England, but the skipper has continued to dominate the bowlers. Kohli, who scored 871 runs in South Africa and 894 runs in England this year, has shattered a number of records with the bat.

The BCCI central contract, an IPL contract with RCB and the endorsements are the major reasons behind Kohli's earnings.

The heart of the matter

Kohli is only behind Bollywood star Salman Khan in the overall celebrity list. Meanwhile, the former Indian cricketers, MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar have taken the second and third spots respectively in the sportspersons chart.

Dhoni, who has not been in great touch lately, is yet to register a single ODI fifty this year. And Tendulkar, who retired from international cricket five years ago, continues to be present in the top three with Rs. 80 crore.

Jasprit Bumrah and Manish Pandey, who are at 60th and 77th respectively, have found a place for the first time on the list of top-earning celebrities. Bumrah recorded Rs. 16.42 crore while Pandey earned Rs. 13.08 crore in the year.

What's next?

Kohli, who started the year with the bang, is now looking to become the first Indian captain to win a Test series in the Australian soil. The first game of the four-match Test series between India and Australia is set to begin on 6th December at Adelaide.